Air cleaning or handling systems are well known for many automated manufacturing setups to maintain a clean air environment by removing particles from the air. In some applications, wet scrubbers may be used to clean the air and as a result, the air may be heavily laden with water droplets which must be removed.
This air, heavily laden with water droplets, is passed through a series of closely spaced curved plates which provide a torturous path to separate the water droplets from the air stream and allow the water to drip down. The plates may include chevrons on the sides of the plates to improve the collection efficiency of the water from the air. However, such systems have very slow air speeds generally on the order of 500 feet per minute or less and require frequent disassembly and cleaning to remove the accumulated material from the collection plates.
There thus remains a need for an apparatus for use in air handling equipment which can efficiently remove water droplets from the air stream and overcome the disadvantages of the prior art apparatus.